"Kyuuuu, Kyu kyuuuu~"
The creature's voice despite being not that loud or powerful managed to cover a very large distance.
Hao Xuan quickly realized that this little thing wasn't as simple as its appearance made it out to be because he could feel a spiritual energy hidden just underneath its audible voice layer. It sounded like a sirens song, able to manipulate others for some time.
Hao Xuan's blood trembled and responded to the frequency that would normally be beyond his audible spectrum.
"Hmmm," without even meaning to Hao Xuan hummed back, just loud enough that the creature could hear it.
It suddenly jumped on Princess Helena's shoulder and turned around to look Hao Xuan in the eye.
"Kyuuuu~" it spoke again, tilting its head sideways as if to ask 'Was that really you?'
Hao Xuan could feel it trying to reach out. It was most definitely speaking, just not a language that he could understand.
"Kyu?"
Its ears limped and eyes started to water. It looked like a child that had been yelled at.
"What? I don't understand you," Hao Xuan swiftly spoke up. For some reason, he felt like if it started to cry it would be very troublesome.
"Kyuuu kyu?"
The creature continued to speak the same 'words' just in a slightly different tone of voice. Maybe he was starting to lose his mind or maybe it was actually happening but after a few tries he started to get an impression of a word from its continuous yapping.
"Friend?" he repeated what he think it was trying to get and the creature responded positively. Its ears perked up and it stood on its hind legs like a squirrel with twinkling eyes.
"Kyuuu kyu kyuuu kyu!"
He was hoping it would shut up but after getting a response from him the creature became double excited and came back with renewed vigor. It only took a few seconds for Hao Xuan to give up completely and he started to ignore it altogether.
the creature tried to get his attention, even going as far as jumping on his head and pulling his ears but he didn't budge an inch.
Thankfully this unpleasant interaction came to its intended end when Princess Helena came to the end of the pathway. In front of them was a single red tent placed beside a small waterfall that was coming from somewhere very high up.
The ground looked like it was part of a sandy desert or maybe an oasis that was connected to the rest of the city by a single pathway.
The tent's plain design and the sterile land it was placed was starkly different from the opulence of the city it should have been a part of. Because while the rest of the city and all the areas surrounding it looked like they were all one blossoming ecosystem, this place felt 'abandoned' or 'asleep'.
The tent was only about 2 meters in diameter so when Princess Helena lifted the front flap and gestured from him to enter Hao Xuan didn't know what to do. He wouldn't even be able to stand straight in there, especially with Ma Jiang still in his embrace.
But in a bid to not appear rude he still decided to go in first and then maybe mention that it was a little too small for him. He bent down to step through and the moment he crossed the threshold the space in front of distorted and started to expand.
Within the blink of an eye a giant hall at least 40 meters wide solidified.
There were two tables placed horizontally in the middle with fresh fruit, cold and hot drinks along with a wide selection of other dishes. To the right side were some chairs that were facing one another while a couple of single beds were placed on the left side.
There was a single table with two chairs facing one another on the far end, away from everything else. Even the air smelled so good that Hao Xuan almost forgot why he had come here. It smelled sweet and a little spicy.
There was something else in this place that he couldn't quite put his finger on but it definitely didn't feel normal. This was some sort of special magic rather than the simple space manipulation that he was used to.
"You can put her down there," Princess Helena's voice brought Hao Xuan out of the daze.
He walked over to the bed she was pointing at and gently placed Ma Jiang down. She still hadn't woken up but since there were no external injuries he didn't think much of it.
But when he tried to move away he noticed she was still holding onto him with such a strong grip that her dainty fingers had turned white. He tried to pry open her hand but her expression suddenly changed.
She looked like she was about to cry. Thinking it was just a bad dream Hao Xuan was about to forcefully pull away when a stick landed squarely on the back of his head.
"Don't move.. What kind of a man is so rough with such a wee lass?" a stern voice reprimanded him from behind.
